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FIA WEC: Discover the legendary championship with Michelin

The 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship kicked off in April with the 6 Hours of Silverstone. Let's look back on a championship where drivers must foremost be able to count on their tires.

The World Endurance Championship is a groundbreaking contest for manufacturer innovation and technology...

The March 2012 debut of the FIA World Endurance Championship marked the dawn of a new era in endurance. Three seasons later and leading car manufacturers such as Aston Martin, Audi, Corvette, Ferrari, Nissan, Porsche and Toyota are all taking part.

In 2015, these manufacturers will be represented by the 35 cars joining in the quest for the world title watched closely by ever-growing crowds of spectators.

...as well as for Michelin and its tires

The creation of the Championship heralds a change in the development of MICHELIN endurance tires. Up until then, this development was mainly dictated by the 24 Hours of Le Mans where Michelin's tire longevity and consistency allowed its partners to perform relay after relay without any loss in performance and in complete safety. Fewer tire changeovers meant valuable seconds gained in the pit stops. Now, the development of Endurance tires is carried out both for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the World Endurance Championship (WEC). There is no longer any need for two distinct ranges. Engineers and developers from the Michelin Motorsports Department and the Michelin Technology Center aimed to offer a range of versatile and high-performance tires on all types of circuit and championship race formats.

The FIA WEC or how Michelin's performances and innovations are carried over from the track to the road

When you drive a racing car you need to have faith. In an endurance race, no matter whether it lasts 8 or 24 hours, drivers must have tires which are versatile enough to cope with a wide variety of weather conditions and temperatures.

The tires used must therefore have a wide operating range as well as sufficient durability to cover one or more relays. This is a challenge to which Michelin easily rises thanks to the deployment of new, innovative and cutting-edge technologies which prove themselves in racing before being applied to mass-produced tires for all motorists.

2015 race: Michelin stands up to the test thanks to its MICHELIN Total Performance strategy

For endurance racing, MICHELIN tires are developed in accordance with the MICHELIN Total Performance developmentstrategy, i.e. to attain a very high balance of performance:

better longevity,

better grip,

better consistency,

greater safety.

This high performance level of tires must be reflected during the 8 stages of the 2015 World Endurance Championship which will take place over 4 continents. These vary according to:

their duration - from 6 hours to 24 hours,

the length of the circuit - from 4.5 to 13.6 km,

their configuration,

the surface, causing low to medium wear of tires,

the weather: wet conditions in Great Britain or Belgium and dry conditions in Bahrain,

the temperature - ranging from cold in Great Britain to very hot in Austin or Bahrain.

To keep up to date with all the latest live news from the 2015 World Endurance Championship

Michelin's partnerships in the World Endurance Championship

Focus on

For the 2015 World Endurance Championship, Michelin will partner Toyota, Audi, Porsche and Nissan who will all compete against each other over the 8 races, culminating in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

Our mission

Michelin, the leading tire company, is dedicated to enhancing its clients’ mobility, sustainably; designing and distributing the most suitable tires, services and solutions for its clients’ needs; providing digital services, maps and guides to help enrich trips and travels and make them unique experiences; and developing high-technology materials that serve the mobility industry. Headquartered in Clermont-Ferrand, France, Michelin is present in 170 countries, has 114,100 employees and operates 70 production facilities in 170 countries which together produced 187 million tires in 2017.

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Some of these cookies give us insight into how the site is being used, statistics and audience monitoring.
They also allow you to share content with other people or to make your browsing known to said people and express you opinion.Click here to find out more about the cookies we use and their purpose.